Let Custom Android Build Devs Use Google Apps | Save Cyanogen!

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When Android was introduced a few years ago, it seemed extremely promising. It was an open source operating system for mobile phones, with almost unlimited potential. This potential was unleashed over at XDA-Devs, where they created custom apps, modded the OS, and even the recovery image for Dream and Magic (aka G1 and myTouch 3G in USA).

However, this amazing freedom that seemed to create the perfect solution for smartphones everywhere has just hit a wall, Google, the company of which has the unofficial motto of "Do No Harm" has sent a cease and desist (Wikipedia it) order to Cyanogen, one of the top modders in the Android Scene. It basically told Cyanogen that he had to stop including Google applications (such as Market, GTalk, IM, etc) with the phone, that without the phone would be a practically worthless pile of garbage. The reason? Google states that by letting custom developers use the proprietary applications in their custom builds that it somehow harmed Google. Now, I for one do not understand how that would hurt Google. It's not like they'll be losing any money from the modders using the FREE applications that come BUNDLED with the phone that it shall be used on.

Please, Google, continue to let the XDA Devs use Google Applications in their custom builds. If you do not, the years of work you have put into this project will all have been for nothing (as you shall constantly lose traffic to other mobile OS's).

36 Signatures

Gabe
Jason Secord
- Comments
- I'm all for Google protecting intellectual property but there are better ways to handle this specific issue. I'm also somewhat outraged at the fact that I've fully paid for a Google Experience device with the understanding that its an open source operating system and am now being told the majority of the underpinnings (sync etc.) are closed source. This makes my Google Experience a bad one. Fix this relationship Google, your My Touch ads are turning my stomach.
Kevin
- Comments
- work something out please.
Andrew McLean
- Comments
- mayhbe if you worked with the devs you would find away to improve your platform hense seeling more phones..
Joan Valls Moreno
Bryan
Ondrej Herman
Tyler Spilker
- Comments
- Let devs distribute the apps that are freely availible anyway!!
Will Nuckles
Kabbie McFeely
Nevin
Terry Topp
Marco
Sergey Belov
Konstantinos Taptas
- Comments
- Cyanogen IS THE DEFINITION of Android Potential
Rune
Eric Cardwell
- Comments
- I thought the Android OS was going to be open. Thought google was going to save us from "evil companies". You are no better than crAPPLE.
Arthur Handy
Josh Martz
- Comments
- Sounds good to me, I always put the google apps in my custom builds....
Jeff Dunn
decebal mihailescu
- Comments
- stop putting limits what the software can do
John Tetreault
- Comments
- Better for Google to allow use of the proprietary apps than to have the open source community create replacements.
Andrew G.Treves
- Comments
- I jumped from palm to Android but at this rate my HTC hero will be the last.
Luc Fortin
Chuck G
Alejandro Ramallo
- Comments
- Cyanogen is really good and a lot faster(in my experience) than the regular android version. Google, dont become communists like Microsoft or Apple!
danny
Sheyi Adeyemi
Steve Jackson
- Comments
- hell yes, keep corporate interests out!
Kevin Shea
Simon
- Comments
- you are ruining the whole point of open source
Boblet
- Comments
- needed in dev to test interaction with google apps
Alex
Sean Hirschi
- Comments
- The g1 really is useless without this since you can't save apps to the sd card. The limited space it has to save apps is not nearly enough for today's apps.
Michael Emminger
- Comments
- Let my people GO!!!
Mayank Ramnani